"Doctor Lab Panda" is shocked by the news that many university students have contracted liver fluke infection. The number is enormous, prompting warnings about the dangers of eating raw food. Liver fluke infection over time can lead to bile duct cancer. This can happen.
In a case where Mr. Chumpit Decharat, Governor of Maha Sarakham province, chaired a meeting to discuss organizing the "Isan Young People Free from Liver Fluke and Bile Duct Cancer Festival," Mr. Suksan Sirisuriyasunthorn, head of the Communicable Disease Control Group at the Maha Sarakham Provincial Public Health Office, presented the liver fluke outbreak situation in the province. Screening of 20,000 local residents found an infection rate of about 11%.
Meanwhile, screening of new students enrolling in the 2026 academic year revealed that among over 12,700 freshmen at Maha Sarakham University, 4,233 were infected with liver flukes, representing 33%. At Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University, screening 1,922 new students found 380 infected cases, or 19%, as previously reported.
Regarding this matter, Mr. Pakpoom Dechhasadin, a medical technologist and owner of the "Doctor Lab Panda" page, posted his opinion stating, "This news shocked me! I have been trying to warn about the trend of eating raw food, which is spreading widely on social media.
What is most alarming is the massive number of university students infected with liver flukes. Normally, this parasite is found among rural villagers who are less aware of the dangers of eating raw food. Liver fluke infection over time causes bile duct cancer.
Previously, I studied parasitology at the master's level. It was difficult to find people infected with parasites we needed because serious campaigns against eating raw food had reduced infections among Thai people. Researchers struggled to find parasite samples, so I had to look among migrant workers in factories in Samut Sakhon province. Once, I even went to a mountainous area in Mae Chaem district, Chiang Mai province, to find cases in schools.
In reality, liver fluke infection is not hard to find, especially in Isan, but it’s unusual to see such cases among university students; it’s usually found among villagers.
Dishes like koi pla, fresh fish, pla som, pla jom, fish fermented with spices, grilled fish, and raw pla ra that some people tear and eat are risky because the parasites live in freshwater fish such as siu fish, sardines, white fish, cyprinids, and grey mullet.
When we eat undercooked or raw fish, we ingest infectious parasite larvae. Gastric juices digest the fish meat, releasing the larvae, which crawl into the bile duct system through openings in the small intestine and mature into adult flukes inside the bile ducts in the liver.
It’s not just about passing parasites; some people develop complications such as bile duct obstruction caused by the flukes, infections or inflammation of the bile ducts or gallbladder, or bile duct cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma).
If you want to avoid cancer, avoid or stop eating raw or undercooked fish. Content promoting raw fish dishes is not good.
The parasite infection epidemic is starting again."
After the post was shared, many people commented, such as: "How is it? Is it delicious or not?" "People aren’t afraid, doctor. Most fear not being able to eat it." "The problem lies with vendors who should boil the fermented fish sauce before use because buyers don't know, unlike those who intentionally eat raw." "I remember when I was a child there were serious campaigns about liver fluke infection. Many people in Isan died from this disease. It was very frightening. Why is it like this nowadays? It’s really confusing."